JP7325663B1 - Communication system, aggregation device, communication method, communication program and extension terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

An extended terminal device (4) according to the present disclosure includes a first communication unit (41) that communicates with at least some of a plurality of terminal devices according to a first communication method, 2, a multi-hop communication control unit (44) for controlling multi-hop communication in a multi-hop network with an aggregation device as a parent station, and a first communication unit ( 41) receives upstream data, which is data destined for the aggregation device that manages the terminal device, from the terminal device, the protocol conversion processing unit that converts the protocol of the upstream data from the first communication method to the second communication method. (43), the second communication unit (42) transmits the protocol-converted upstream data to the opposite device, which is the next node on the upstream path toward the aggregation device in the multi-hop network, and the opposite device Protocol conversion from the second communication method to the first communication method is performed on the data.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to an extended terminal device, an aggregation device, a communication system, a communication method, and a communication program in a wireless multi-hop network.

In a wireless multi-hop network, a communication path from a source terminal device to a destination terminal device is constructed by relaying data by terminal devices that configure the wireless multi-hop network. In a wireless multi-hop network, each terminal device can relay data, so data can be transmitted over a wider range than the reach of radio waves sent from the terminal device. For this reason, in recent years, wireless multi-hop networks have been introduced in systems that collect data over a wide range from a plurality of terminal devices, such as automatic meter reading of electricity and gas, and collection of various measurement data. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a data collection system that collects power meter reading data using a wireless multi-hop network.

Japanese Patent No. 6498375

The wireless transmission distance generally depends on the transmission rate, and the higher the transmission rate, the shorter the wireless transmission distance. Therefore, if there is no other terminal device in the vicinity of the terminal device within the wireless transmission distance corresponding to the required transmission capacity, the terminal device cannot communicate. Can not. When the wireless multi-hop network is used for automatic meter reading, collection of measurement data, etc., the terminal device is installed in a location suitable for data acquisition, so communication is not possible due to the absence of other terminal devices within the communication range. terminal devices that cannot For example, if the terminal device is a communication device in a smart meter used for automatic meter reading, the smart meter is installed at a location where the power consumption of the consumer is measured. There may be smart meters that cannot participate in the hop network. Therefore, there is a demand for a technology capable of constructing a multi-hop network including terminal devices with which communication between terminal devices is difficult.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to obtain an extended terminal device capable of constructing a multi-hop network including terminal devices with which communication between terminal devices is difficult.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve an object, a communication system according to the present disclosure includes a first device and a second device, the first device wirelessly using a first communication scheme. a first communication unit capable of communicating with at least some terminal devices among a plurality of terminal devices capable of communicating according to a first communication method; A second communication unit capable of communicating in the communication method of, a multi-hop communication control unit that controls multi-hop communication in a multi-hop network with the aggregation device as a parent station, and a first communication unit from the terminal device a protocol conversion processing unit that converts the protocol of the uplink data from the first communication method to the second communication method when uplink data, which is data addressed to the aggregation device that manages the terminal device, is received; The second communication unit transmits the protocol-converted upstream data to the second device, which is the next node on the upstream path toward the aggregation device in the multi-hop network, and the second device receives the upstream data in a second manner. Protocol conversion from the communication method to the first communication method is performed.

The extended terminal device according to the present disclosure has the effect of being able to build a multi-hop network including terminal devices with which communication between terminal devices is difficult.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a communication system according to a first embodiment; FIG. A diagram showing a configuration example of a terminal device according to Embodiment 1 A diagram showing a configuration example of an extension terminal device according to Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of an aggregation device according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a central device according to Embodiment 1; Sequence diagram showing an example of connection processing between extension terminal devices according to the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of connection processing between extension terminal devices according to the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of connection processing between extension terminal devices according to the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of connection processing to a wireless multi-hop network in the extension terminal device according to the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of connection processing to a wireless multi-hop network in the extension terminal device according to the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of connection processing to a wireless multi-hop network in the extension terminal device according to the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of connection processing to a wireless multi-hop network in the extension terminal device according to the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of an uplink route notification processing procedure from the extension terminal device of the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of an uplink route notification processing procedure from the extension terminal device of the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of the processing procedure for sending an application message from the extended terminal device according to the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of the processing procedure for sending an application message from the extended terminal device according to the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of the uplink route notification processing procedure from the terminal device according to the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of the uplink route notification processing procedure from the terminal device according to the first embodiment FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing procedure for transmitting an application message from the terminal device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a computer system that implements the extension terminal device according to the first embodiment; A diagram showing a configuration example of a communication system according to a second embodiment A diagram showing a configuration example of an extension aggregation device according to the second embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of connection processing between the extension terminal device and the extension consolidation device according to the second embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of a notification processing procedure of an uplink route from the extended terminal device according to the second embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of the processing procedure for sending an application message from the extended terminal device according to the second embodiment Sequence diagram showing an example of a notification processing procedure of an uplink route from a terminal device according to Embodiment 2 Sequence diagram showing an example of a procedure for transmitting an application message from the terminal device according to the second embodiment

An extension terminal device, an aggregation device, a communication system, a communication method, and a communication program according to embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication system according to a first embodiment; The communication system 7 of Embodiment 1 is, for example, a system that collects measurement data for automatic meter reading of electric energy, gas, etc., but it may be a sensor network system that collects measurement data. 7 uses are not limited to these.

As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 7 includes a central device 1, an aggregation device 2, terminal devices 3-1 to 3-7, and extended terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2. The central device 1 controls the communication system 7 and receives data from the terminal devices 3 - 1 to 3 - 7 in the communication system 7 via the aggregation device 2 . Hereinafter, when each of the terminal devices 3-1 to 3-7 is indicated without distinguishing them individually, they will be referred to as a terminal device 3. FIG. The extension terminal device 4-2 is an example of the first device in this embodiment, and the extension terminal device 4-1 is an example of the second device in this embodiment.

Each of the aggregation device 2 and terminal devices 3-1 to 3-7 is capable of, for example, performing 920 MHz band specific low-power wireless communication (hereinafter abbreviated as 920 MHz band extra-low wireless communication), and multi-hop It is possible to perform communication control for building a network. The multi-hop network may be a wireless multi-hop network in which all nodes perform wireless communication, or may be a multi-hop network including wired sections as tunnel sections to be described later. Further, as will be described later, the extended terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 are also capable of performing specified low-power wireless communication in the 920 MHz band, and are also capable of performing communication control for constructing a wireless multi-hop network. It is possible. As will be described later, there may be cases where there is no wireless line between the extension terminal device 4-1 and the extension terminal device 4-2. -2 is also called a wireless multihop network. Although seven terminal devices 3 are illustrated in FIG. 1, the number of terminal devices 3 is not limited to this. The number of aggregation devices 2 is also not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1, and generally a plurality of aggregation devices 2 are used.

The aggregating device 2 is a device serving as the root (master station) of the wireless multi-hop network, and transmits data received from the subordinate terminal device 3 and extended terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 to the central device 1, Control data and the like received from the central unit 1 and addressed to the subordinate terminal unit 3 and extended terminal units 4-1 and 4-2 are transmitted to the destination unit via the wireless multi-hop network. Each of the aggregation device 2, the terminal device 3, and the extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2, which constitute the wireless multi-hop network, is hereinafter also referred to as a node.

In the wireless multi-hop network of this embodiment, routing is performed based on a defined routing protocol. RPL (IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks) can be used as the routing protocol. Although the routing protocol is not limited to this, an example in which RPL is used as the routing protocol will be described below in this embodiment. In RPL, each terminal device 3 and extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 are connected to each terminal device 3 and extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 for an uplink path, which is a communication path from each terminal device 3 and extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 to the aggregation device 2. The next node (next node) on the route to the aggregation device 2 is held as an upstream route. The terminal device 3 and the extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 grasp the upstream route according to the routing protocol and transfer the data addressed to the aggregation device 2 to the next node. 1 and 4-2 arrive at the aggregation device 2. FIG. The downlink route is determined by the aggregation device 2 based on the uplink route, for example, but is not limited to this.

Here, an example will be described in which communication when the aggregation device 2 and terminal devices 3-1 to 3-7 construct a wireless multi-hop network is 920 MHz band extra-small wireless communication. The first communication method, which is the method of communication when performing the communication, is not limited to this. Also, in the following, an example in which the communication system 7 is used for automatic meter reading of electric energy, that is, an example in which the terminal device 3 and the extended terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 are communication devices in a smart meter will be described. As mentioned above, the use of the communication system 7 is not limited to this.

The central device 1 and the aggregation device 2 are connected by, for example, an IP (Internet Protocol) network. Any line may be used as the line of the IP network, for example, an optical line, a wired line other than optical, a mobile phone network, other wireless lines, etc., or two or more of these may be used. may be a combination of

In FIG. 1, a first line 5, which is a communication line between devices based on 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication, is indicated by a solid line. A similar solid line without reference numeral 5 is also the first line 5 . In the example shown in FIG. 1, the aggregation device 2 and terminal devices 3-1 to 3-5 are surrounded by other terminal devices 3 capable of communicating by 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication. Device 2 and terminal devices 3-1 to 3-5 can construct a wireless multi-hop network with aggregation device 2 as a parent station.

On the other hand, between the terminal devices 3-6 and 3-7 and the aggregation device 2 and the terminal devices 3-1 to 3-5, for example, there are no consumers due to the presence of mountains and the like. 3 is not provided. Therefore, the terminal devices 3-6 and 3-7 cannot communicate with any of the terminal devices 3-1 to 3-5 using the 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication. For this reason, the terminal devices 3-6 and 3-7 cannot directly participate in the wireless multi-hop network with the aggregation device 2 as the parent station. Hereinafter, the sections between the terminal devices 3-6 and 3-7 and the terminal devices 3-1 to 3-5 are also called divided sections. When viewed from the aggregation device 2 side, the terminal devices 3-6 and 3-7 are the terminal devices 3 at the end of the divided section. It is also called a device 3 or a terminal device 3 existing beyond the segmented section.

FIG. 1 schematically shows an example in which mountains exist between the terminal devices 3-6 and 3-7 and the aggregation device 2 and the terminal devices 3-1 to 3-5. Even if there is no segmentation interval, there may be a segmentation interval. If the terminal devices 3-6, 3-7, the aggregation device 2, and the terminal devices 3-1 to 3-5 are at a wireless transmission distance of 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication or more, even if there is no mountain, Similarly, the terminal devices 3-6 and 3-7 cannot directly communicate with the aggregation device 2 and the terminal devices 3-1 to 3-5 in the 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication. In the present embodiment, by using the extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2, the cost is reduced compared to the case where the aggregation device 2 is installed at the end of the divided section, and the terminal device 3 at the end of the divided section is consolidated. Allows communication with device 2 . Thereby, a wireless multi-hop network including terminal devices 3 with which communication between terminal devices 3 is difficult can be constructed. That is, it is possible to extend the wireless multi-hop network with the aggregation device 2 as a parent station to the terminal device 3 beyond the divided section.

The extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 are capable of performing 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication, which is an example of the first communication method, and other communication methods other than 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication (the 2 communication method) can be performed. Communication by other communication methods includes, but is not limited to, communication using a mobile phone network, communication using an optical communication line, and communication using a wired line other than an optical communication line. Further, the other communication method is, for example, a communication method according to IP, but is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a communication method in which connection is made in a MAC (Media Access Control) layer, or a communication method according to other communication protocols. may In FIG. 1, a communication line using another communication method is indicated by a dashed line as the second line 6 . In the following, an example will be described in which communication by another communication scheme is communication according to the LTE (Long Term Evolution) standard, which is one type of communication using a mobile phone network. Therefore, the extension terminal device 4-1 and the extension terminal device 4-2 actually communicate via an LTE base station (not shown in FIG. 1).

The extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 of this embodiment perform protocol conversion between the first communication system and the second communication system, which is another communication system. As a result, the terminal devices 3-6 and 3-7 can be connected to the aggregation device 2 and the terminal devices 3-1 to 3-5 via the extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2. In the following description, the extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 will be referred to as extension terminal devices 4 when they are indicated without distinguishing between them.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, when installing a smart meter for power meter reading in a place where there is a segmented section between the wireless multi-hop network constructed by the aggregation device 2, the communication device in the smart meter As such, a communication device capable of performing communication using a mobile phone network may be used. For example, when there are a small number of consumers in a mountainous area, terminal devices capable of communicating using the mobile phone network are used, but the number of terminal devices performing communication using the mobile phone network increases. And the cost for using the mobile phone network will increase. Moreover, if the number of consumers existing beyond the divided section reaches a certain level, it is conceivable to provide another aggregation device 2 on the right side of FIG. 1, for example. However, since installation of the aggregation device 2 requires a considerable cost, when the number of terminal devices 3 existing ahead of the divided section is very small compared to the maximum number of terminal devices 3 that the aggregation device 2 can accommodate, , it is not preferable to install the aggregation device 2 at the end of the divided section. In addition, since the aggregation device 2 is often installed on a utility pole together with a transformer, maintenance costs are also required. In this embodiment, since a wireless multi-hop network can be constructed across a divided section using the extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2, it is not necessary to install the aggregating device 2 at the end of the divided section. Therefore, it is possible to enable communication between the terminal device 3 and the aggregation device 2 located ahead of the segmented section at a reduced cost.

Next, a configuration example of each device in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the terminal device 3 of this embodiment. The terminal device 3 includes a first communication section 31 , a multihop communication control section 32 and an application processing section 33 . The terminal device 3 is connected to, for example, a meter (not shown), and acquires the measurement result of the electric energy measured by the meter as meter reading data. Note that the meter connected to the terminal device 3 may be a meter for measuring the amount of gas used as described above. Also, depending on the application of the communication system 7 , a sensor that acquires measurement data may be connected to the terminal device 3 instead of the meter. In addition, the terminal device 3 further transmits and receives data for controlling power generation equipment, power storage equipment, load equipment, etc. of the consumer for the control and energy management of a virtual power plant (VPP). good too.

The first communication unit 31 performs processing of the physical layer and the MAC layer in 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication. For example, when the first communication unit 31 receives data transmitted as radio waves by 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication from other devices such as the aggregation device 2, other terminal device 3, and extension terminal device 4, the received data , the physical layer and the MAC layer are processed, and the processed data is output to the multi-hop communication control unit 32 . The first communication unit 31 also performs physical layer and MAC layer processing on the transmission data received from the multi-hop communication control unit 32, and transmits the processed transmission data as radio waves.

The multi-hop communication control unit 32 performs communication control in the wireless multi-hop network according to the route control protocol, grasps the next node on the route to the aggregation device 2, and holds information indicating the next node as an upstream route. For example, the multi-hop communication control unit 32 generates various messages as transmission data according to the routing protocol, and outputs the generated transmission data to the first communication unit 31 . Further, when the data received from the first communication unit 31 is a route control message and the data requires a response, the multihop communication control unit 32 generates a response message as transmission data, Output to the communication unit 31 . Further, when the data received from the first communication unit 31 is addressed to another terminal device 3, the multi-hop communication control unit 32 determines whether the data is transferred to the terminal device of the transfer destination based on the information indicating the downlink route stored in the data. 3 (or aggregating device 2), and instructs the first communication unit 31 to transmit the data to the terminal device 3 of the determined transfer destination. In addition, when the multi-hop communication control unit 32 receives transmission data from the application processing unit 33, it adds a destination to the data, determines the transfer destination terminal device 3 (or the aggregation device 2) corresponding to the destination, and determines The first communication unit 31 is instructed to transmit the data to the terminal device 3 of the transfer destination. Also, when the data received from the first communication unit 31 is control data addressed to its own terminal device, the multi-hop communication control unit 32 outputs the control data to the application processing unit 33 .

The application processing unit 33 executes application processing. For example, when the application processing is collection of metering data of electric energy, the application processing unit 33 generates transmission data including metering data obtained from a meter (not shown) as an application message, and multiplies the generated application message. Output to the hop communication control unit 32 . Further, upon receiving data from the multi-hop communication control unit 32, the application processing unit 33 performs processing according to the data. In addition, since the terminal device 3 is a general terminal device that constitutes a wireless multi-hop network, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the extension terminal device 4 of this embodiment. The extended terminal device 4 includes a first communication unit 41 , a second communication unit 42 , a protocol conversion processing unit 43 , a multihop communication control unit 44 and an application processing unit 45 . The extension terminal device 4 is also connected to the meter in the same manner as the terminal device 3 . As mentioned above, depending on the application of the communication system 7, it may be connected to sensors instead of meters. Although an example in which the extension terminal device 4 is connected to a meter or a sensor is described here, the extension terminal device 4 may be provided as a device specialized for protocol conversion without being connected to a meter. In this case, the extension terminal device 4 does not have to include the application processing section 45 .

The application processing unit 45 executes application processing. The operation of the application processing unit 45 is the same as that of the application processing unit 33 in the terminal device 3 . The multi-hop communication control unit 44 controls multi-hop communication in a multi-hop network with the aggregation device 2 as a parent station. That is, the multihop communication control unit 44 performs communication control in the multihop network according to the routing protocol. The operation of the multihop communication control unit 44 is the same as that of the multihop communication control unit 32 in the terminal device 3 except that the data to be transmitted is passed to the first communication unit 41 via the protocol conversion processing unit 43 .

The first communication unit 41 performs processing of the physical layer and the MAC layer in the 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication, which is the first communication method. The first communication unit 41 is capable of communicating with at least some of the terminal devices 3 among the plurality of terminal devices 3 capable of performing 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication by the first communication method. The operation of the first communication unit 41 is the same as that of the first communication unit 31 in the terminal device 3 except that it receives transmission data from the multi-hop communication control unit 44 via the protocol conversion processing unit 43 .

The second communication unit 42 can communicate using a second communication method different from the first communication method. For example, the second communication unit 42 performs processing of the physical layer, MAC layer and IP layer (network layer) in communication of communication methods other than the 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication. Here, as described above, an example in which the other communication system is a communication system according to LTE will be described, but the other communication system is not limited to this.

When the first communication unit 41 receives uplink data, which is data addressed to the aggregation device 2 that manages the terminal device 3, from the terminal device 3, the protocol conversion processing unit 43 converts the uplink data from the first communication method to the second communication method. protocol conversion to the communication method of The protocol conversion processing unit 43 includes a transmission/reception control unit 431 , a header generation connection unit 432 , a header division analysis unit 433 , a network control unit (hereinafter abbreviated as NW control unit) 434 , an information storage unit 435 and a distribution unit 436 .

The transmission/reception control unit 431 controls transmission/reception by the second communication unit 42 . When transmitting a message to the extension terminal device 4 of the communication partner, the header generation/connection unit 432 generates a header for communication between the extension terminal devices 4 and connects the generated header to the message. The header division analysis unit 433 separates the header for communication between the expansion terminal devices 4 from the data received from the expansion terminal device 4 of the communication partner, and analyzes the separated header. The NW control unit 434 controls communication with the extension terminal device 4 of the communication partner and generates messages for communication between the extension terminal devices 4 . The information storage unit 435 stores sorting information, which is information used for sorting determination in the sorting unit 436 . Based on the sorting information, the sorting unit 436 determines the sorting destination (output destination) of the messages and notifications generated by the protocol conversion processing unit 43 and the messages and notifications input to the protocol conversion processing unit 43, and outputs the determination result. Output messages and notifications to distribution destinations according to Details of the processing in the protocol conversion processing unit 43 will be described later.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the aggregation device 2 of this embodiment. The aggregation device 2 includes a first communication unit 21 , a third communication unit 22 , a multihop communication control unit 23 and an application processing unit 24 .

The application processing unit 24 executes application processing as the aggregation device 2 . For example, when the application processing is collection of power consumption measurement data, the application processing unit 24 performs a process of aggregating the measurement data received from the subordinate terminal device 3 and the extended terminal device 4, and collects the aggregated data. to the third communication unit 22 .

The third communication unit 22 communicates with the central device 1 . For example, the third communication unit 22 transmits data received from the application processing unit 24 to the central unit 1, and if the data received from the central unit 1 is data related to control of the wireless multi-hop network, multi-hop communication control The data is output to the unit 23 , and if the data is related to application processing, it is output to the application processing unit 24 .

Like the first communication unit 31 of the terminal device 3 , the first communication unit 21 performs physical layer and MAC layer processing in 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication. The multi-hop communication control unit 23 performs communication control as a parent station in the wireless multi-hop network according to the routing protocol.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the central device 1 of this embodiment. The central device 1 comprises a third communication section 11 and an application processing section 12 . The third communication unit 11 communicates with the aggregation device 2 . The application processing unit 12 executes application processing as the central device 1 . For example, when the application processing is collection of power metering data, the application processing unit 12 transmits the data received from the aggregation device 2 to the third communication unit 11 to a device (not shown) that manages meter reading data. Let Further, the application processing unit 12 generates control data for controlling the aggregation device 2, the terminal device 3, and the extended terminal device 4, and outputs the generated data to the third communication unit 211 so that the third communication unit 11 to transmit the control data to the aggregation device 2 .

Next, the operation of the communication system 7 of this embodiment will be described. 6, 7 and 8 are sequence diagrams showing an example of connection processing between extension terminal devices 4 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the extended terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 each perform connection processing (base station connection processing) with the LTE base station (step S1). If the other communication method is a communication method other than LTE, the extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 perform connection processing according to the communication method.

The NW control unit 434 of the protocol conversion processing unit 43 of the extended terminal device 4-1 starts (activates) a transmission random timer (step S2). The transmission random timer is a timer whose expiration time is randomly set in order to distribute transmission from each extended terminal device 4, and is built into the NW control unit 434, for example. In this example, out of the extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2, the extension terminal device 4-1 has the transmission random timer that expires earlier and performs the processing first. Although not shown, the transmission random timer is similarly started in the extension terminal device 4-2.

When the transmission random timer expires (step S3), the NW control unit 434 of the extended terminal device 4-1 generates transmission information and a network confirmation message (hereinafter abbreviated as NW confirmation message), and sends the generated transmission information and the NW A confirmation message is output to the header generation/connection unit 432 (step S4). The NW confirmation message is a message for confirming that communication between the extension terminal devices 4 can be performed normally. The transmission information is information used for generating a conversion header, which will be described later, and for communication control in LTE. The transmission information includes, for example, source terminal identification information, destination IP (IP address), destination port (Port), and transmission protocol. It is assumed that each extension terminal device 4 holds its own IP address and the IP address of the extension terminal device 4 with which it communicates in advance. These IP addresses are registered in advance, for example. The IP address may be fixed, or each extension terminal device 4 may hold the MAC address of the extension terminal device 4 with which it communicates, and obtain the IP address by querying the MAC address. . Each extended terminal device 4 generates and transmits a NW confirmation message when the transmission random timer expires and when the NW confirmation message is received before the transmission random timer expires.

Alternatively, either one of the extension terminal device 4-1 and the extension terminal device 4-2 may specify its own IP address and the extension terminal device 4 as a communication partner (for the extension terminal device 4-1, the extension terminal device 4- 2. The extension terminal device 4-2 may hold the IP address of the extension terminal device 4-1). These IP addresses are registered in advance, for example. Alternatively, the IP address of the extension terminal device 4-1 and the IP address of the extension terminal device 4-2 may be notified from the central device 1 to the extension terminal device 4-1. When either one of the extension terminal device 4-1 and the extension terminal device 4-2 holds the IP address, the extension terminal device 4 holding the IP address transmits the NW confirmation message when the transmission random timer expires. Send. When the other extension terminal device 4 that does not hold the IP address receives the NW confirmation message from the communication partner, it generates the NW confirmation message, and sends the generated NW confirmation message to the extension terminal that is the transmission source of the received NW confirmation message. Send to device 4 .

The transmission source terminal identification information is, for example, the MAC address of the extension terminal device 4 as the transmission source, but is not limited to this, and may be identification information unique to the hardware of the extension terminal device 4 . The NW confirmation message includes information indicating that it is a NW confirmation message, a sequence number, and connection availability information. Note that the NW confirmation message only needs to contain information indicating that it is a NW work control message, and one or more of the sequence number and the connection propriety information need not be contained in the NW confirmation message. The connection propriety information is information indicating whether or not the transmission source extension terminal device 4 can communicate with another extension terminal device 4 by another communication scheme, LTE. For example, the connection permission/prohibition information becomes a value indicating connection permission after connection processing is performed with the base station, and connection is permitted while communication with the base station is possible. If a failure occurs in communication with LTE, or if there is an instruction to stop LTE communication from the central device 1, aggregation device 2, or the like, the connectability information becomes a value indicating that connection is not possible.

Upon receiving the transmission information and the NW confirmation message, the header generation/connection unit 432 of the extension terminal device 4-1 generates a conversion header using the transmission information (step S5), and uses the transmission information to generate transmission parameters (in the figure, (also referred to as transmission parameter) is generated (step S6). The conversion header is a header for converting the communication protocol in the wireless multi-hop network into the communication protocol between the extended terminal devices 4 . The translation header includes, for example, source identification information. A transmission parameter is, for example, a parameter used for transmission control in LTE. Transmission parameters include destination IP, destination port and transmission protocol.

Here, the translation header will be explained. In a wireless multi-hop network composed of the aggregation device 2 and the terminal device 3, a multi-hop network header, which is a routing control header according to the routing protocol, is added to data to be transmitted. Headers such as layer 2 (L2) other than the header of the multihop network header are also added to data transmitted and received in the wireless multihop network configured by the aggregation device 2 and the terminal device 3 . For example, data including all of these headers is regarded as a payload, and the first communication unit 41 of the extension terminal device 4-1 transmits it with a channel header attached, and the first communication unit of the extension terminal device 4-2 41 deletes the channel header, it is possible to construct a wireless multi-hop network including the channel between the extended terminal device 4-1 and the extended terminal device 4-2. That is, the extension terminal device 4-1 can perform protocol conversion by encapsulation, and the extension terminal device 4-2 can perform protocol conversion by deleting the header added by encapsulation. Such protocol conversion by encapsulation may be performed. An example of protocol conversion by adding as a conversion header will be described. As a result, the amount of communication can be reduced compared to the case of encapsulation.

As described above, the conversion header is, for example, source identification information, such as the MAC address of the source device. Here, an example in which the conversion header is source identification information will be described, but the conversion header is not limited to this, and may be information extracted from a header other than the multihop network header, and may include multiple pieces of information. You can When the extension terminal device 4-1 transmits the NW confirmation message, the transmission source device is the extension terminal device 4-1, so the transmission source identification information is the identification information of the extension terminal device 4-1. That is, the transmission source identification information is, for example, the identification information in L2 of the extension terminal device 4 as the transmission source among the adjacent extension terminal devices 4 . In this way, by including the identification information in L2 of the extension terminal device 4 as the transmission source in the conversion header, the multihop communication control unit 44 of the extension terminal device 4 uses the information to perform the multihop communication control unit 44 can perform L2 processing. Therefore, the extension terminal device 4 that transmitted the data can appear to be next to the extension terminal device 4 that received the data in multi-hop communication control. That is, the extension terminal device 4 that has received the data from the other extension terminal device 4 performs the same processing as when the data is received from the other extension terminal device 4 by the first communication unit 41 . can be considered and operated as adjacent nodes in a wireless multi-hop network.

Next, the header generating/connecting unit 432 of the extension terminal device 4-1 connects the messages (step S7). Specifically, the header generating/connecting unit 432 adds the conversion header to the NW confirmation message, thereby connecting the conversion header to the NW confirmation message. Adding a conversion header is an example of protocol conversion from the first communication method to the second communication method. Next, the header generating/connecting unit 432 of the extension terminal device 4-1 outputs the NW confirmation message with the converted header added to the transmission/reception control unit 431, and notifies the transmission/reception control unit 431 of the transmission parameters (step S8).

The transmission/reception control unit 431 of the extension terminal device 4-1 outputs the NW confirmation message to which the conversion header is added to the first communication unit 41, and requests the transmission of the NW confirmation message to the second communication unit 42 using the transmission parameter. (step S9). The second communication unit 42 of the extension terminal device 4-1 adds a communication channel header in LTE to the NW confirmation message after the conversion header is added, received from the transmission/reception control unit 431, and adds the communication channel header and the conversion header after addition. A NW confirmation message is sent to the extended terminal device 4-2 (step S10). Transmission parameters are used to generate the channel header. Also, the channel header includes source IP (IP address) and source port (Port). Although not shown, this NW confirmation message arrives at the extension terminal device 4-2 via the base station. This example is only an example and is not limited to this example. If the other communication method is other than LTE, a header corresponding to the communication method is added as a communication channel header, and the transmission parameters are also those corresponding to the communication method. is used.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the second communication unit 42 of the extension terminal device 4-2 receives the NW confirmation message after adding the communication path header and conversion header from the extension terminal device 4-1, the LTE communication is performed from the communication path header. The information is extracted, and the LTE communication information and the NW confirmation message with the conversion header added are output to the transmission/reception control unit 431 (step S11).

The transmission/reception control unit 431 of the extension terminal device 4-2 outputs the LTE communication information and the NW confirmation message after adding the conversion header to the header division analysis unit 433 (step S12). The header division analysis unit 433 of the extension terminal device 4-2 performs header division (step S13). Specifically, the header division analysis unit 433 separates the conversion header and the NW confirmation message. Next, the header division analysis unit 433 of the extension terminal device 4-2 creates reception information (step S14). Specifically, the header division analysis unit 433 creates reception information using the conversion header and LTE communication information. Source terminal identification information is included in the conversion header, and source IP, source port and reception protocol are included in the channel header.

Next, the header division analysis section 433 of the extension terminal device 4-2 outputs the received information and the NW confirmation message to the NW control section 434 (step S15). The NW control unit 434 of the extended terminal device 4-2 holds the information (step S16). That is, the NW control unit 434 holds the received information and the information included in the NW confirmation message.

Next, the NW control unit 434 of the extension terminal device 4-2 generates a NW confirmation message as a response to the received NW confirmation message, and outputs the generated transmission information and the NW confirmation message to the header generation connection unit 432. (Step S17). The transmission information is the same as the information generated by the extension terminal device 4-1 in step S4. The original identification information is the identification information of the extended terminal device 4-2. The NW confirmation message is also similar to the information generated by the extension terminal device 4-1 in step S4, but the sequence number is the same as the sequence number included in the NW confirmation message received from the extension terminal device 4-1, for example. It can be a number, but is not limited to this. The sequence number may be determined in any way if the sequence number check described below is not performed. Also, as described above, the NW confirmation message only needs to contain information indicating that it is a NW confirmation message, and the sequence number need not be contained in the NW confirmation message. Here, it is assumed that the sequence number is the same number as the sequence number included in the NW confirmation message received from the extended terminal device 4-1.

After that, steps S18 to S23 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are performed in the extension terminal device 4-2 in the same manner as steps S5 to S10 in the extension terminal device 4-1. As a result, the NW confirmation message to which the communication path header and conversion header have been added is transmitted from the extension terminal device 4-2 to the extension terminal device 4-1.

As shown in FIG. 8, after step S23, the expansion terminal device 4-1 performs steps S24 to S28 in the same manner as steps S11 to S15. After step S28, the NW control unit 434 of the extended terminal device 4-1 checks the sequence number (step S29). Here, since the extension terminal device 4-2 includes in the NW confirmation message the same sequence number as the NW confirmation message transmitted by the extension terminal device 4-1, the NW control unit 434 of the extension terminal device 4-1 , determines whether or not the sequence number included in the NW confirmation message received from the extended terminal device 4-2 matches the sequence number of the NW confirmation message generated in step S4. Thereby, the extension terminal device 4-1 can confirm that the NW confirmation message received from the extension terminal device 4-2 is a response to the NW confirmation message transmitted by itself.

Next, the NW control unit 434 of the extended terminal device 4-1 checks the connection propriety information (step S30). Specifically, the NW control unit 434 confirms whether or not the connection availability information is information indicating that the connection is allowed. Perform processing using If the connection propriety information indicates that connection is not possible, the process from step S2 may be repeated after a certain period of time, or communication with the extension terminal device 4-2 to the central device 1 or the aggregation device 2 is not possible. You can notify us.

As described above, the NW confirmation message does not have to contain a sequence number, and if the NW confirmation message does not contain a sequence number, the NW control unit 434 of the extended terminal device 4-1 performs step Instead of S29, it confirms that the received message is a NW confirmation message. As described above, the NW confirmation message contains information indicating that it is a NW confirmation message, and the NW control unit 434 refers to this information to confirm that the received message is the NW confirmation message. can do. The NW control unit 434 determines that the received message is the NW confirmation message and the transmission source identification information stored in the conversion header is the identification information of the extension terminal device 4-2 determined as the communication partner of the extension terminal device 4-1. , it determines that the received message is a response to the NW confirmation message it has sent.

Further, as described above, the NW confirmation message does not have to include the connection permission/prohibition information. does not perform step S30. When step S30 is not performed and step S29 is performed, the NW control unit 434 of the extension terminal device 4-1 determines that the sequence number is correct by checking the sequence number in step S29. determine that communication between is possible. Similarly, even if step S30 is not performed and determination using the information indicating that the NW confirmation message is performed instead of step S29, the received message is the NW confirmation message sent by itself. , it is determined that communication with the extension terminal device 4-2 is possible.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, two extension terminal devices 4 corresponding to one aggregation device 2 are illustrated, but three or more extension terminal devices 4 corresponding to one aggregation device 2 are provided. good too. In this case as well, the extension terminal device 4 similarly transmits a NW confirmation message to each of the other extension terminal devices 4 of the communication partner to confirm the connection. A wireless multi-hop network including links between terminal devices 4 is constructed.

Next, connection processing to the wireless multi-hop network in the extended terminal device 4 will be described. 9 to 12 are sequence diagrams showing an example of connection processing to the wireless multi-hop network in the extended terminal device 4 of this embodiment.

Here, the extension terminal device 4-1 uses the multi-hop communication control unit 44 and the first communication unit 41 to construct a route in the wireless multi-hop network including the aggregation device 2 according to the route control protocol in the same way as the terminal device 3. is assumed to have been implemented. For example, assume that a route has already been constructed using a DIO (DODAG (Destination Oriented Directed Acyclic Graph) Information Object) message transmitted from the aggregation device 2, which is the parent station. The DIO message is a message for constructing a route. The parent station broadcasts the DIO message to each node, and each node updates the rank included in the DIO message to a value added with its own rank and transfers the DIO message. By doing so, an upstream communication path is constructed. A rank is determined according to, for example, the number of hops, communication quality, and the like. The multi-hop communication control unit 44 of the extension terminal device 4-1 knows the rank corresponding to the aggregation device 2 which is the parent station of the extension terminal device 4-1.

As shown in FIG. 9, after confirming the connection with the extension terminal device 4-2 using the NW confirmation message described above, the NW control unit 434 of the extension terminal device 4-1 starts wireless multi-hop connection. (Start of wireless multi-hop network connection processing including communication between extended terminal devices 4) is notified to the sorting unit 436 (step S31). In step S31, the NW control unit 434 also notifies the distribution unit 436 of transmission information related to transmission to the extension terminal device 4-2, which is the direct transmission destination of the communication between the extension terminal devices 4. FIG.

Upon receiving the notification of the wireless multi-hop connection start, the distribution unit 436 performs distribution determination for determining the distribution destination of the notification based on the transmission information (step S32). For example, it is assumed that the information storage unit 435 stores information indicating that the notification of wireless multi-hop connection start is to be distributed to the multi-hop communication control unit 44 as the distribution information. It is determined that the multi-hop communication control unit 44 is the allocation destination of the wireless multi-hop connection start notification. Further, since the extension terminal device 4-2 is the transmission destination using communication between the extension terminal devices 4, the information storage unit 435 stores the message to be distributed to the extension terminal device 4-2 as the header generation linking unit 432. is stored in the information storage unit 435 as the sorting information. Based on the transmission information, the distribution unit 436 recognizes that the destination of the message generated by the multihop communication control unit 44 by the notification of the start of the wireless multihop connection is the extended terminal device 4-2, and based on the distribution information. The header generating/connecting unit 432 decides where to distribute the message.

The distribution unit 436 outputs a notification of the wireless multi-hop connection start to the distribution destination multi-hop communication control unit 44 (step S33). The multihop communication control unit 44 generates a DIO message (abbreviated as DIO in the drawing) upon receiving the notification of the wireless multihop connection start (step S34), and outputs the generated DIO message to the distribution unit 436 (step S35). . This DIO message contains the rank corresponding to the aggregation device 2 .

The distribution unit 436 determines in step S32 that the destination of the DIO message is the header generation/connection unit 432. and output to the header generating/connecting unit 432 (step S36). After that, steps S5 to S10 are performed in the same manner as in the example shown in FIG. However, the part of the NW confirmation message is a DIO message.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the extension terminal device 4-2 receives the DIO message to which the channel header and conversion header are added, steps S11 to S15 are performed in the same manner as in the example shown in FIG. However, the part of the NW confirmation message is a DIO message. Although illustration of the distribution unit 436 is omitted in FIG. 7, in the example shown in FIG. 7 as well, the header division analysis unit 433 notifies the distribution unit 436 of the received information and the NW confirmation message in step S15. However, assuming that the distribution information specifies that the NW confirmation message should not be output, the distribution unit 436 does not output the reception information and the NW confirmation message even if the notification is received.

Upon receiving the reception information and the DIO message, the distribution unit 436 of the extended terminal device 4-2 performs distribution determination (step S37). When a message in the wireless multi-hop network such as a DIO message is received, it is determined by the distribution information that the message should be distributed to the multi-hop communication control unit 44, and the distribution unit 436 distributes the DIO message to multiple The hop communication control unit 44 decides.

The distribution unit 436 of the extended terminal device 4-2 outputs the DIO message to the multi-hop communication control unit 44 based on the distribution determination (step S38). The multi-hop communication control unit 44 of the extended terminal device 4-2 selects the aggregation device 2 using the quality information (determines the aggregation device 2) (step S39). The method of determining the aggregation device 2 in the multi-hop communication control unit 44 is the same as the general method of determining the parent station using the DIO message, so the details will be omitted. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the information about the aggregation device 2 shown in FIG. 1 can be obtained by a DIO message via the extension terminal device 4-1, and since there is no other aggregation device 2, the multihop communication control unit 44 determines the master station to be the aggregation device 2 shown in FIG. The multi-hop communication control unit 44 holds the identification information of the extension terminal device 4-1, which is the transmission source of the DIO message, as route information as the upstream route corresponding to the determined aggregation device 2, that is, as the next node. Note that if there are a plurality of aggregation devices 2, the aggregation device 2 is determined based on quality information and the like. Also, although illustration is omitted, the multi-hop communication control unit 44 of the extended terminal device 4-2 causes the first communication unit 41 to transmit the DIO message by broadcasting.

On the other hand, when the NW control unit 434 of the extension terminal device 4-2 receives the reception information and the DIO message, it notifies the distribution unit 436 of the wireless multi-hop connection start ( step S40). After that, steps S41 to S45 are performed in the same manner as steps S32 to S36 in the extended terminal device 4-1. After that, steps S18 to S23 are performed in the same manner as in the examples shown in FIGS. However, the part of the NW confirmation message is a DIO message.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the extension terminal device 4-1 receives the DIO message to which the channel header and conversion header are added, steps S24 to S28 are performed in the same manner as in the example shown in FIG. After that, steps S47 to S49 are performed in the extension terminal device 4-1 in the same manner as steps S37 to S39 in the extension terminal device 4-2 shown in FIG.

Next, the processing for notifying an uplink route from the extension terminal device 4-2 will be described. The extension terminal device 4-2 receives the above-described DIO message and holds the uplink route to the aggregation device 2 as route information. The extension terminal device 4-2 notifies the aggregation device 2 of this upstream route. The message for notifying the upstream route is the same as the message for notifying the upstream route from the terminal device 3 and is addressed to the aggregation device 2 .

13 and 14 are sequence diagrams showing an example of the uplink route notification processing procedure from the extension terminal device 4-2 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the multi-hop communication control unit 44 of the extended terminal device 4-2 generates an upstream route notification message (abbreviated as upstream route notification in the figure) that is a message for notifying an upstream route, and generates An upstream route notification message is output to the protocol conversion processing unit 43 (step S51). The protocol conversion processing unit 43 of the extension terminal device 4-2 performs protocol conversion processing (protocol conversion processing at the time of transmission) (step S52), outputs the processed message to the second communication unit 42 (step S53), The second communication unit 42 transmits the processed message to the extension terminal device 4-1 (step S54). Step S52 is the same as steps S18 to S21 shown in FIG. 11, step S53 is the same as step S22 shown in FIG. 11, and step S54 is the same as step S54 shown in FIG. This is the same as step S23.

In the extension terminal device 4-1, when the second communication unit 42 receives the message (the message with the communication path header and conversion header added) transmitted in step S54, it outputs the received message to the protocol conversion processing unit 43. (step S55). The protocol conversion processing unit 43 of the extension terminal device 4-1 performs protocol conversion processing (protocol conversion processing at the time of reception) (step S56), and outputs the processed message to the multihop communication control unit 44 (step S57). . Step S56 is the same as steps S24 to S28 and S47 shown in FIG. 12, and step S57 is the same as step S48 shown in FIG. 12, although the contents of the messages are different.

The multihop communication control unit 44 of the extended terminal device 4-1 updates the multihop network header in the message received from the protocol conversion processing unit 43 (step S58), and converts the protocol of the message after updating the multihop network header. It outputs to the processing unit 43 (step S59). A multi-hop network header is a header used in communication in a wireless multi-hop network, such as, but not limited to, a header in RPL. The multihop communication control unit 44 updates the multihop network header according to the routing protocol. For example, the multihop communication control unit 44 updates the multihop network header by adding the identification information of its own node, and determines the transfer destination of the message. Specifically, the multi-hop communication control unit 44 adds information indicating the next node of the transfer destination to the message based on the retained upstream route. In the examples shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, it is assumed that the extended terminal device 4-1 holds, as route information, information indicating that the next uplink node is the terminal device 3-2.

The distribution unit 436 in the protocol conversion processing unit 43 of the extended terminal device 4-1 uses the destination of the message received from the multi-hop communication control unit 44 and the distribution information to determine the distribution (step S60). That is, the distribution unit 436 determines the distribution destination of the message received from the multihop communication control unit 44 using the destination of the message received from the multihop communication control unit 44 and the distribution information. As described above, the information storage unit 435 stores the sorting information, and the sorting information indicates whether the first communication unit 41 or the second communication unit 42 is used for transmission for each destination of the message to be transmitted. contains information indicating For example, the sorting unit 436 sends the message addressed to the node (the terminal device 3, the extended terminal device 4, the aggregation device 2) that is the transmission source of the message received from the first communication unit 41 to the first communication unit 41. Information indicating that the data is transmitted using the data is stored in the information storage unit 435 as distribution information. Further, the distribution unit 436 stores, as distribution information, information indicating that the message addressed to the node is to be transmitted using the second communication unit 42 for the node that is the transmission source of the message received from the second communication unit 42. Stored in section 435 . In the example shown in FIG. 13 , since the destination of the message is the aggregation device 2 , the sorting unit 436 determines that the message is to be transmitted using the first communication unit 41 .

The protocol conversion processing unit 43 of the extended terminal device 4-1 outputs the message received from the multi-hop communication control unit 44 to the first communication unit 41 based on the result of the distribution determination (step S61). 41 transmits the message to the terminal device 3-2, which is the transfer destination (step S62).

In the terminal device 3-2, when the first communication unit 31 receives the message from the extended terminal device 4-1, it outputs the message to the multi-hop communication control unit 32 (step S63). The multihop communication control unit 32 of the terminal device 3-2 updates the multihop network header of the received message (step S64), as in step S58. The multihop communication control unit 32 of the terminal device 3-2 outputs the message after updating the multihop network header to the first communication unit 31 (step S65).

As shown in FIG. 14, the first communication unit 31 of the terminal device 3-2 transmits the message to the aggregation device 2 (step S66). The first communication unit 21 of the aggregation device 2 outputs the received message to the multihop communication control unit 23 (step S67). The multihop communication control unit 23 acquires and stores the route from the multihop network header of the received message (step S68). Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 14, the aggregating device 2 extracts the nodes on the upstream path of the extension terminal device 4-2 as the transmission source from the multihop network header, Corresponding nodes on the upstream route are stored as route information. Thereafter, using this route information, the aggregation device 2 adds the node included in the corresponding route information to the multihop network header as a downstream route when transmitting data addressed to the extended terminal device 4-2. As a result, the data sent from the aggregation device 2 and addressed to the extension terminal device 4-2 is transferred by each node on the downstream path and arrives at the extension terminal device 4-2. At this time, the extension terminal device 4-1 performs protocol conversion as described above and transmits down data to the extension terminal device 4-2.

Next, the processing for transmitting an application telegram from the extended terminal device 4-2 will be described. FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 are sequence diagrams showing an example of processing procedures for transmitting an application message from the extended terminal device 4-2 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 15, when the application message is generated, the application processing unit 45 of the extended terminal device 4-2 notifies the application message to the multi-hop communication control unit 44 (step S71). The multi-hop communication control unit 44 adds a multi-hop network header to the application message (step S72), and outputs the application message after adding the multi-hop network header to the protocol conversion processing unit 43 (step S73). After that, steps S52 to S54 are performed in the same manner as in the example shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, in the extended terminal device 4-1, the terminal device 3-2 and the aggregation device 2, the processing of steps S55 to S68 is performed in the same manner as in the examples shown in FIGS. . After step S68, the multi-hop communication control unit 23 of the aggregation device 2 deletes the multi-hop network header from the data since the received data is an application message (step S80), and returns the data from which the multi-hop network header has been deleted. That is, the application message is output to the third communication unit 22 (step S81).

The third communication unit 22 transmits the application message to the central device 1 (step S82). The third communication unit 11 of the central device 1 outputs the received application message to the application processing unit 12 (step S83), and the application processing unit 12 performs processing according to the application message (step S84).

In the example shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, when the aggregation device 2 receives the application message, it transfers it to the central device 1 as it is. The processed application telegram may be transmitted to the central device 1 . For example, when the application message includes meter reading data of electric energy, the application processing unit 24 may aggregate meter reading data received from a plurality of nodes and transmit the aggregated data to the central device 1 .

Next, the process of notifying an uplink route from the terminal device 3-6 will be described. The terminal device 3-6 holds the upstream route to the aggregation device 2 as route information by receiving the above-described DIO message. The terminal device 3-6 notifies the aggregation device 2 of this upstream route.

FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 are sequence diagrams showing an example of an uplink route notification processing procedure from the terminal device 3-6 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, the multi-hop communication control unit 32 of the terminal device 3-6 generates an uplink route notification message (abbreviated as uplink route notification in the figure) that is a message for notifying an uplink route, and generates an uplink Information indicating the next node on the upstream route is added to the route notification message and output to the first communication unit 31 (step S91). The upstream route notification message is an example of upstream data addressed to the aggregation device 2 . The first communication unit 31 transmits an upstream route notification message to the extended terminal device 4-2, which is the next node (step S92).

The first communication unit 41 of the extended terminal device 4-2 outputs the received upstream route notification message to the multihop communication control unit 44 (step S93). The multihop communication control unit 44 updates the multihop network header of the received uplink route notification message (step S94), and outputs the uplink route notification message after updating the multihop network header to the protocol conversion processing unit 43 (step S94). S95). Thereafter, steps S52 to S68 are performed by the extension terminal device 4-2, the extension terminal device 4-1, the terminal device 3-2 and the aggregation device 2 in the same manner as in the examples shown in FIGS.

In this way, the second communication unit 42 of the extension terminal device 4-2 is the next node on the uplink route to the aggregation device 2 in the multi-hop network for the uplink data after protocol conversion. In the examples shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the counterpart device is the extension terminal device 4-1. The extension terminal device 4-1, which is the opposite device, converts the protocol of the uplink data from the second communication method to the first communication method, and converts the uplink data after the protocol conversion into the aggregating device according to the first communication method. Send to 2.

Next, the process of transmitting an application telegram from the terminal device 3-6 will be described. FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing procedure for transmitting an application message from the terminal device 3-6 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 19, when the application message is generated, the application processing unit 33 of the terminal device 3-6 notifies the multi-hop communication control unit 32 of the application message (step S101). The application message is also an example of upstream data addressed to the aggregation device 2 . The multi-hop communication control unit 32 adds a multi-hop network header to the application message (step S102), and outputs the application message after adding the multi-hop network header to the first communication unit 31 (step S103). The first communication unit 31 transmits the application message to which the multi-hop network header has been added to the extended terminal device 4-2 (step S104). Thereafter, steps S93 to S95 and S52 to S62 are performed by the extension terminal device 4-2 and the extension terminal device 4-1 in the same manner as in the examples shown in FIGS. After that, although illustration is omitted, steps S63 to S68 and S80 to S84 are performed in the terminal device 3-2, the aggregation device 2 and the central device 1 in the same manner as in the examples shown in FIGS.

Next, the hardware configuration of the extension terminal device 4 of this embodiment will be described. In the extension terminal device 4 of the present embodiment, the protocol conversion processing of the extension terminal device 4 is performed by executing a program, which is a computer program in which processing in the extension terminal device 4 is described, on a processing circuit which is a computer system. The functions of the unit 43, the multihop communication control unit 44, and the application processing unit 45 are realized. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a computer system that implements the extension terminal device 4 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 20, this computer system includes a control unit 101 and a storage unit 102, a first communication device 103, and a second communication device 104, which constitute a processing circuit, which are connected via a system bus. It is The first communication device 103 is, for example, a receiver and a transmitter configured with an antenna and a communication circuit. The second communication device 104 is, for example, a receiver and a transmitter composed of an antenna and a communication circuit, but does not have an antenna when performing wired communication.

In FIG. 20, a control unit 101 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and executes a program describing processing in the extended terminal device 4 of this embodiment. Part of the control unit 101 may be realized by dedicated hardware such as FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The storage unit 102 includes various memories such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory) and storage devices such as a hard disk, and stores programs to be executed by the control unit 101 and necessary data obtained in the course of processing. store data, etc. The storage unit 102 is also used as a temporary storage area for programs. Note that FIG. 20 is an example, and the configuration of the computer system is not limited to the example of FIG.

Here, an operation example of the computer system until the program of the present embodiment becomes executable will be described. In the computer system having the above configuration, for example, a computer program is stored in a storage unit from a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM set in a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM drive or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM drive (not shown). 102 installed. Then, when the program is executed, the program read from storage unit 102 is stored in the main storage area of storage unit 102 . In this state, control unit 101 executes processing as extension terminal device 4 of the present embodiment according to the program stored in storage unit 102 .

In the above description, a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM is used as a recording medium to provide a program describing processing in the expansion terminal device 4. However, the configuration of the computer system and the provided program are not limited to this. For example, a program provided by a transmission medium via the first communication device 103 or the second communication device 104 may be used depending on the capacity of the device.

The communication program of the present embodiment includes, for example, a step of controlling multi-hop communication in a multi-hop network with the aggregating device 2 as a parent station in the extended terminal device 4, and A step of converting the protocol of the upstream data from the first communication system to the second communication system different from the first communication system when the upstream data, which is the data addressed to the aggregation device 2 that manages the device 3, is received. and transmitting the protocol-converted upstream data to the opposite device, which is the next node on the upstream path toward the aggregation device 2 in the multi-hop network, using the second communication method.

Protocol conversion processing unit 43, multi-hop communication control unit 44, and application processing unit 45 shown in FIG. 3 are executed by control unit 101 shown in FIG. 20 from computer programs stored in storage unit 102 shown in FIG. It is realized by The storage unit 102 shown in FIG. 20 is also used to implement the protocol conversion processing unit 43, the multi-hop communication control unit 44, and the application processing unit 45 shown in FIG. The first communication unit 41 shown in FIG. 3 is realized by the first communication device 103 shown in FIG. 20, and the second communication unit 42 shown in FIG. 3 is realized by the second communication device 104 shown in FIG. be done.

The terminal device 3 is implemented by, for example, a control unit 101 and a storage unit 102 that constitute a processing circuit, and a first communication device 103 among the components shown in FIG. The aggregating device 2 is realized by, for example, a control unit 101 and a storage unit 102 forming a processing circuit, a first communication device 103, and a third communication device (not shown) among the components shown in FIG. The central unit 1 is implemented by a control unit 101 and a storage unit 102 that form a processing circuit, and a third communication device (not shown) among the components shown in FIG. Note that the central device 1 may be a server or the like, may be realized by a plurality of computer systems, or may be realized by a cloud computing system.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 perform protocol conversion, so that communication lines of other communication methods can be used in some sections of the wireless multi-hop network. Therefore, terminal devices 3 that have difficulty in communication between terminal devices 3 can participate in the wireless multi-hop network. In addition, if there are a certain number of terminal devices 3 that can communicate with each other in a wireless multi-hop network beyond a section where communication between the terminal devices 3 is difficult, all of these terminal devices 3 can be LTE. The cost can be reduced compared to the case where the central device 1 or the like individually collects data in place of a terminal device connectable to a line or the like. In addition, since there is no need to install an aggregation device 2 for a small number of terminal devices 3 compared to the maximum number that can be accommodated by the aggregation device 2, the cost can be reduced compared to the case of adding an aggregation device 2. can be done.

Embodiment 2.
FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication system according to a second embodiment; The communication system 7a of the second embodiment includes a central device 1a instead of the central device 2 and the central device 1, and terminal devices 3-8 to 3-17 instead of the terminal devices 3-1 to 3-7. Other than that, it is the same as the communication system 7 of the first embodiment. The central device 1a comprises an extension/aggregation device 2a. Each of the terminal devices 3-8 to 3-17 is the same as each of the terminal devices 3-1 to 3-7 of Embodiment 1, and the terminal devices 3-8 to 3-17 are not individually distinguished. When shown, it is described as a terminal device 3 . Components having functions similar to those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and overlapping descriptions are omitted. The following description focuses on points that differ from the first embodiment. The extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 are examples of the first device in this embodiment, and the extension aggregation device 2a is an example of the second device in this embodiment.

Assuming that the terminal devices 3-8 to 3-12 form one group and the terminal devices 3-13 to 3-17 form another group, in the example shown in FIG. Communication with other terminal devices 3 can be performed, but communication cannot be performed between terminal devices 3 in different groups. Therefore, it is difficult to subordinate the terminal devices 3-8 to 3-17 to one aggregation device. In the present embodiment, an extension terminal device 4 is installed in each group, and the extension terminal device 4 and the extension aggregation device 2a communicate with each other using a wireless communication method other than the wireless communication method used between the terminal devices 3. , and the protocol conversion is performed, the terminal devices 3-8 to 3-17 can be subordinated to one extension aggregation device 2a. For example, when there are multiple locations where a certain number of terminal devices 3 are concentrated, if aggregating devices are installed in all of these locations, the number of terminal devices 3 will be considerably larger than the maximum number that the aggregating device can accommodate. If less, it is not cost effective. In the present embodiment, the extension/aggregation device 2a can accommodate terminal devices 3 at a plurality of locations, so costs can be suppressed. Although two groups are shown in FIG. 21, there may be three or more groups, in which case an extension terminal device 4 is installed in each group.

In this embodiment, the central unit 1a includes a third communication unit 11 and an application processing unit 12, which are not shown in FIG. 21, like the central unit 1 of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the central device 1a further includes an extension aggregation device 2a, which is an aggregation device for the extension terminal device 4. FIG. The extension aggregation device 2a is an aggregation device serving as a master station of a multihop network capable of constructing a multihop network with a plurality of terminal devices 3 capable of performing wireless communication according to the first communication method. The expansion aggregation device 2a is connected to the expansion terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 through a second line 6a using a communication method other than the 920 MHz band ultra-low wireless communication. The second line 6a may be a mobile phone network such as LTE, a combination of a mobile phone network and a wired line such as an optical line, or a wired line. Although not shown, the central device 1a may collect meter reading data by communicating with an aggregation device other than the extension aggregation device 2a, for example, the aggregation device 2 described in the first embodiment. .

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the expansion aggregation device 2a of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 22, the extension aggregation device 2a includes a third communication unit 22, a multi-hop communication control unit 23, and an application processing unit 24 similar to the aggregation device 2 of the first embodiment. Prepare. The third communication unit 22 of the present embodiment is an example of a second communication unit that performs communication using a second communication method different from the first communication method. The protocol conversion processing unit 25 includes a transmission/reception control unit 251 , a header generation connection unit 252 , a header division analysis unit 253 , a NW control unit 254 , an information storage unit 255 and a distribution unit 256 . The functions of the transmission/reception control unit 251, the header generation/connection unit 252, the header division/analysis unit 253, the NW control unit 254, the information storage unit 255, and the distribution unit 256 are the transmission/reception control unit 431, the header generation/connection unit 432, and the header division/analysis unit, respectively. 433 , NW control unit 434 , information storage unit 435 and distribution unit 436 .

Assuming that the line of the second line 6a to which the extension/aggregation device 2a is connected is the same IP network as the communication line on which the central unit 1a communicates using the third communication unit 11, the central unit 1a has an extension There is no need to introduce a new communication line for the aggregation device 2a. In the following, an example in which the extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 are connected to the IP network by communicating by LTE, and the extension aggregation device 2a is connected to the IP network will be described. Not limited.

In this embodiment, the extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 each perform protocol conversion with the extension consolidation device 2a in the same manner as the communication between the extension terminal devices 4 in the first embodiment. communication by other communication methods.

FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram showing an example of connection processing between the extension terminal device 4-2 and the extension aggregation device 2a according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 23, the extension terminal device 4-2 performs steps S1 to S9 in the same manner as the extension terminal device 4-1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. However, the destination IP address in the transmission information is the address of the extended aggregation device 2a. After step S9, the second communication unit 42 of the extension terminal device 4-2 transmits the NW confirmation message to which the channel header and conversion header are added to the extension aggregation device 2a (step S10a).

When the third communication unit 22 of the extension aggregation device 2a receives the NW confirmation message to which the communication path header and conversion header have been added from the extension terminal device 4-2, the same as step S11 shown in FIG. , extracts the LTE communication information from the communication path header, and outputs the LTE communication information and the NW confirmation message after adding the conversion header to the transmission/reception control unit 251 (step S11a). Hereinafter, the transmission/reception control unit 251, the header generation/connection unit 252, the header division/analysis unit 253, the NW control unit 254, and the third communication unit 22 of the extension aggregation device 2a perform transmission/reception of the extension terminal device 4-2 shown in FIG. It performs the same operations as the control unit 431 , the header generation/connection unit 432 , the header division analysis unit 433 , the NW control unit 434 and the second communication unit 42 . That is, the same processes as steps S12 to S30 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are performed by the extended aggregation device 2a and the extended terminal device 4-2. Connection processing is similarly performed between the extension terminal device 4-2 and the extension aggregation device 2a.

When the connection processing between the extension terminal device 4-2 and the extension aggregation device 2a is completed and it is determined that the extension terminal device 4-2 can be connected to the extension aggregation device 2a, as in the first embodiment, the extension Connection processing to the wireless multi-hop network is performed in the terminal device 4-2. The connection processing to the wireless multi-hop network in the extension terminal device 4-2 of the present embodiment is performed by replacing the extension terminal device 4-1 with the extension terminal device 4-2 in FIGS. 9 to 12 of the first embodiment. , is the same as the processing shown in FIGS. 9 to 12 of the first embodiment except that the extension terminal device 4-2 is changed to the extension aggregation device 2a.

FIG. 24 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the uplink route notification processing procedure from the extension terminal device 4-2 of the present embodiment. Steps S51 to S53 are the same as the processing in FIG. 13 of the first embodiment. In step S54a, the extension terminal device 4-2 transmits an upstream route notification message to the extension aggregation device 2a. The extension aggregation device 2a performs steps S111 to S113 in the same manner as steps S55 to S57 performed by the extension terminal device 4-1 in FIG. 13 of the first embodiment. After that, the extended aggregation device 2a performs step S114 in the same way as step S68 in the aggregation device 2 of FIG.

FIG. 25 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing procedure for transmitting an application message from the extended terminal device 4-2 according to this embodiment. Steps S71 to S73, S52, and S53 are the same as the processing in FIG. 15 of the first embodiment. In step S54a, the extension terminal device 4-2 transmits the application message with the header added to the extension aggregation device 2a. The extended aggregation device 2a performs steps S111 to S114 in the same manner as in FIG. After that, the multihop communication control unit 23 of the extension aggregation device 2a deletes the multihop network header (step S115), and outputs the application telegram after deleting the multihop network header to the protocol conversion processing unit 25 (step S116). The protocol conversion processing unit 25 performs distribution determination (step S117), and outputs the application message after deleting the multihop network header to the third communication unit 22 (step S118).

After that, steps S82 to S84 are performed by the extended aggregation device 2a and the central device 1a in the same manner as the aggregation device 2 and the central device 1 in FIG. 16 of the first embodiment. Note that here, the central device 1a and the extension/aggregation device 2a communicated using the third communication unit 11 and the third communication unit 22, but the extension/aggregation device 2a is provided within the central device 1a. Therefore, instead of steps S82 and S83, the protocol conversion processing unit 25 may output the application message after deleting the multi-hop network header to the application processing unit 12. FIG.

FIG. 26 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the uplink route notification processing procedure from the terminal device 3-14 of the present embodiment. Steps S91 to S95, S52, and S53 are the same as the processing of the terminal device 3-6 and the extension terminal device 4-2 in FIG. 17 of the first embodiment. In step S54a, the extension terminal device 4-2 transmits an upstream route notification message to the extension aggregation device 2a. The extended aggregation device 2a performs steps S111 to S114 in the same manner as in FIG. In this way, the extension terminal device 4-2 receives the uplink data transmitted from the terminal device 3 in the first communication method, and converts the uplink data from the first communication method to the second communication method. After conversion, the uplink data after the protocol conversion is transmitted to the extension aggregation device 2a. The third communication unit 22 of the extended aggregation device 2a transmits the terminal device 3 from the extended terminal device 4-2, which is the next node on the downlink path in the multi-hop network, in a second communication method different from the first communication method. Upstream data addressed to the extension aggregation device 2a is received. Then, when the third communication unit 22 receives the uplink data, the protocol conversion processing unit 25 converts the protocol of the uplink data from the second communication method to the first communication method.

FIG. 27 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing procedure for transmitting an application message from the terminal device 3-14 according to this embodiment. Steps S101 to S104, S93 to S95, S52, and S53 are the same as the processing in FIG. 19 of Embodiment 1 except that the processing of the terminal device 3-6 becomes the processing of the terminal device 3-14. In step S54a, the extension terminal device 4-2 transmits the application message with the header added to the extension aggregation device 2a. The extended aggregation device 2a performs steps S111 to S118 and S82 in the same manner as in FIG. The subsequent processing of the central device 1a is the same as the processing of the central device 1 in FIG. 16 of the first embodiment, so the description is omitted.

23 and 27, the processing related to the extension terminal device 4-2 has been described as an example, but the extension terminal device 4-1 also performs the same processing as the extension terminal device 4-2. As a result, the extension aggregation device 2a can construct a wireless multi-hop network including the extension terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2, and can communicate with the terminal devices 3-8 to 3-17.

In the example shown in FIG. 21, the extension/aggregation device 2a is provided inside the central device 1a. may be Further, the extended aggregation device 2a may also have the function of the aggregation device 2 of the first embodiment that communicates with the terminal device 3. FIG. In this case, the extended aggregation device 2a includes the first communication unit 21 in the same way as the aggregation device 2 of Embodiment 1, and the sorting unit 256 of the protocol conversion processing unit 25 uses the first communication unit 21 according to the destination. It determines whether to transmit the data or to transmit the data to the extended terminal device 4 using the third communication unit 22 .

The functions of the protocol conversion processing unit 25, the multi-hop communication control unit 23, and the application processing unit 24 of the extended aggregation device 2a are performed on the processing circuit, which is a computer system, in the same way as the extended terminal device 4 of the first embodiment. It is realized by executing a program, which is a computer program in which processing in the device 2a is described.

In the present embodiment, the expansion aggregation device 2a and the expansion terminal devices 4-1 and 4-2 perform protocol conversion so that communication lines of other communication methods can be used in some sections of the wireless multi-hop network. Therefore, terminal devices 3 that have difficulty in communication between terminal devices 3 can participate in the wireless multi-hop network. The cost can be reduced compared to the case where the central unit or the like individually collects data by replacing all of the terminal devices 3 with which communication between the terminal devices 3 is difficult with terminal devices that can be connected to an LTE line or the like. In addition, when there are a plurality of locations where a certain number of terminal devices 3 are gathered apart from each other, the cost can be reduced compared to installing aggregating devices in all of these locations.

The configurations shown in the above embodiments are only examples, and can be combined with other known techniques, or can be combined with other embodiments, without departing from the scope of the invention. It is also possible to omit or change part of the configuration.

1, 1a central device, 2 aggregation device, 2a extension aggregation device, 3, 3-1 to 3-17 terminal device, 4, 4-1, 4-2 extension terminal device, 5 first line, 6, 6a second line, 7, 7a communication system, 11, 22 third communication unit, 12, 24, 33, 45 application processing unit, 21, 31, 41 first communication unit, 23, 32, 44 multi-hop communication control unit, 25, 43 protocol conversion processing unit, 42 second communication unit, 251, 431 transmission/reception control unit, 252, 432 header generation connection unit, 253, 433 header division analysis unit, 254, 434 NW control unit, 255, 435 information storage unit, 256 , 436 distribution unit.

Claims (8)

a first device;
a second device;
with
The first device is
a first communication unit capable of communicating with at least some of a plurality of terminal devices capable of wireless communication according to a first communication method according to the first communication method;
a second communication unit capable of communicating in a second communication method different from the first communication method;
a multi-hop communication control unit that controls multi-hop communication in a multi-hop network with an aggregation device as a parent station;
When the first communication unit receives, from the terminal device, uplink data that is data addressed to an aggregation device that manages the terminal device, the uplink data is transferred from the first communication method to the second communication method. a protocol conversion processing unit that performs protocol conversion;
with
The second communication unit transmits the protocol-converted uplink data to the second device, which is a next node on an uplink route toward the aggregation device in the multihop network,
The communication system, wherein the second device performs protocol conversion on the up data from the second communication method to the first communication method. 2. The communication system according to claim 1 , wherein said second device transmits said uplink data after said protocol conversion to said aggregation device according to said first communication method. 2. The communication system according to claim 1 , wherein said second device is said aggregation device. The first device performs a process of adding a conversion header including identification information of the first device to the upstream data as the protocol conversion from the first communication method to the second communication method,
4. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein said protocol conversion from said second communication method to said first communication method includes a process of removing said conversion header. a communication system as described in 1. An aggregating device serving as a parent station of the multi-hop network capable of constructing a multi-hop network with a plurality of terminal devices capable of wireless communication according to a first communication method,
A second communication method different from the first communication method is capable of receiving uplink data destined for the aggregating device with the terminal device as a transmission source from an extension terminal device that is a next node on a downlink path in the multihop network. a second communication unit,
A multi-hop communication control unit that controls multi-hop communication in the multi-hop network;
a protocol conversion processing unit that, when the second communication unit receives the uplink data, converts the protocol of the uplink data from the second communication method to the first communication method;
with
The extension terminal device receives the uplink data in the first communication method, performs protocol conversion on the uplink data from the first communication method to the second communication method, and after the protocol conversion to the aggregation device. A communication method in an extended terminal device capable of communicating with at least some of a plurality of terminal devices capable of wireless communication by a first communication method by the first communication method There is
a step of controlling multi-hop communication in a multi-hop network with an aggregating device as a parent station;
When uplink data, which is data addressed to a centralizing device that manages the terminal devices, is received from the terminal device by the first communication method, the uplink data is transferred from the first communication method to the first communication method. performing protocol conversion to a different second communication scheme;
a step of transmitting the protocol-converted upstream data to a counterpart device, which is a next node on an upstream path toward the aggregation device in the multi-hop network, using the second communication method;
including
A communication method, wherein the opposite device performs protocol conversion on the upstream data from the second communication method to the first communication method. an extended terminal device capable of communicating with at least a portion of the terminal devices capable of wireless communication according to the first communication method according to the first communication method;
a step of controlling multi-hop communication in a multi-hop network with an aggregating device as a parent station;
When uplink data, which is data addressed to a centralizing device that manages the terminal devices, is received from the terminal device by the first communication method, the uplink data is transferred from the first communication method to the first communication method. performing protocol conversion to a different second communication scheme;
a step of transmitting the protocol-converted upstream data to a counterpart device, which is a next node on an upstream path toward the aggregation device in the multi-hop network, using the second communication method;
and
A communication program, wherein the opposite device converts the protocol of the upstream data from the second communication method to the first communication method. An extension terminal device constituting the communication system according to claim 1,
a first communication unit capable of communicating with at least some of a plurality of terminal devices capable of wireless communication according to a first communication method according to the first communication method;
a second communication unit capable of communicating in a second communication method different from the first communication method;
a multi-hop communication control unit that controls multi-hop communication in a multi-hop network with an aggregation device as a parent station;
When the first communication unit receives, from the terminal device, uplink data that is data addressed to an aggregation device that manages the terminal device, the uplink data is transferred from the first communication method to the second communication method. a protocol conversion processing unit that performs protocol conversion;
with
The second communication unit transmits the uplink data after the protocol conversion to a counterpart device, which is a next node on an uplink route toward the aggregation device in the multihop network,
The extension terminal device, wherein the opposite device performs protocol conversion on the uplink data from the second communication method to the first communication method.

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